Vigil for Langston Jackson

Heroin has killed at least nine people in Simi Valley since 2011 and is now threatening the life of one of the city's storied football heroes. Former Simi Valley High School star running back Langston Jackson, 22, is in critical condition at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles from an overdose last weekend, said his mother, Lyle Jackson.

Joe Lumaya/Special to the Star Tatiana Magdaleno tapes up a sign during a prayer vigil for former Simi Valley High School football star Langston Jackson on Thursday night at the Vikings youth football field in Simi Valley.

Joe Lumaya/Special to the Star Hundreds of people lined the Vikings youth football field Thursday night for a candlelight prayer vigil for former Simi Valley High School football player Langston Jackson, who is in critical condition after a heroin overdose.

Joe Lumaya/Special to the Star Lorne Jackson hugs his mother, Lyle Jackson, during a candlelight prayer vigil for his twin brother, Langston Jackson, on Thursday night in Simi Valley.

Joe Lumaya/Special to the Star Ashley Jackson lights the candle of one of the many people who attended a prayer vigil Thursday night for her brother, former Simi Valley High School football player Langston Jackson.

Joe Lumaya/Special to the Star Bobby Hovik and Lexi Aguiar join a candlelight vigil for former Simi Valley High School football player Langston Jackson on Thursday night.

Joe Lumaya/Special to the Star Linda Enyeart (right) and Mary Biondo Lindbergh attend a candlelight prayer vigil Thursday night for former Simi Valley High School football player Langston Jackson. Both are part of the Not One More, an organization formed by parents whose children have died of heroin overdoses.

ANTHONY PLASCENCIA/THE STAR Morgan Snyder (right), a sixth-grader at Medea Creek Middle School, recites lines from a skit about the Great Wall of China during a GATE class. The Oak Park Unified School District recently was selected for the Five-Star School Award.